Georgia Institute of Technology, Saint Joseph’s Translational Research Institute (SJTRI), Piedmont Healthcare and the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) have joined together to create in the Southeast a new Global Center for Medical Innovation (GCMI) that will accelerate the development and commercialization of next-generation medical devices and medical technology. The center’s initial focus is expected to include devices and technologies in cardiology, orthopedics and pediatrics.

The new center will bring together the complete medical device marketplace – which includes universities, research centers and clinicians; established drug and device companies; investors, and early-stage companies. The new center will be located adjacent to the Georgia Tech campus in Technology Enterprise Park (TEP).

 “The convergence of the life sciences with engineering provides a unique opportunity to expand our technology in areas that will support the health care industry of the future,” said G. P. “Bud” Peterson, president of Georgia Tech. “The Global Center for Medical Innovation will bring together in one location the key infrastructure needed to rapidly move new medical devices and new medical technologies to market.”

The new center will include: a complete medical device prototyping center; facilities to produce evaluation devices using “good manufacturing practices” mandated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA); and the ability to manage, coordinate and aggregate intellectual property from the partner organizations and interested private companies.

The Saint Joseph’s Translational Research Institute (SJTRI), the research division of Saint Joseph’s Health System, will add the capability for preclinical studies of new devices and technologies. SJTRI has recently opened a new, 32,000-square-foot preclinical research facility at Technology Enterprise Park. With the GCMI resources, that will provide a comprehensive set of services for developing, testing and prototyping medical innovations.

Physicians on the front lines of patient treatment have a very real appreciation of the need for new technology, but they often lack the resources to translate their ideas and solutions into new medical devices. By collaborating with institutions like Georgia Tech, Physicians can meet patient needs and create new business opportunities. The proximity to university resources will also make the center attractive to outside industry and startup companies. The new Georgia center will allow companies to contract with a single entity for comprehensive development activities, create a single location for investors seeking qualified medical device companies, and allow innovations developed by multiple institutions to be combined to create more useful devices.

The Global Center for Medical Innovation is a not-for-profit entity that will have its own governing board with representatives from the partners and stakeholders.

“By bringing together these public and private resources, we have provided a strong foundation for accelerating the growth of the medical device and medical technology industry in Georgia,” said Governor Perdue. “This partnership demonstrates the strengths Georgia provides industry through collaborations among its research universities, health care organization and the Georgia Research Alliance.”

By Vasil Sidorov on November 11, 2009 from Georgia Tech

sidorovvasil@gmail.com